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7-year-old injured in hit and run

A young girl was struck by a vehicle near the VIP Subdivision on Kalifornsky Beach Road Tuesday evening.

The hit-and-run accident occurred at 6:25 p.m. Alaska State Troopers and Central Emergency Services responded to the scene and found an injured 7-year-old girl. She was receiving treatment from a passing motorist at the time.

Troopers have identified the young girl as Talia Tepp.

The vehicle, a white Toyota SUV, left the scene without giving aid to the injured girl, Troopers reported. The license plate of the vehicle has been verified as DYE 138.

Cpt. Andy Greenstreet said an undetermined number of children, possibly two or three, were playing in a mud puddle along the side of the road when one of them ran across both lanes of traffic.

Another child yelled at and was following the runner when an outbound vehicle hit Tepp. Tire marks in the roadway indicate the SUV swerved to avoid a child, Greenstreet said.

“If the driver stayed at the scene of the accident we could’ve investigated and found no fault on their part,” he said. “But the fact that they left is concerning.”

Tepp was taken to Central Peninsula Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover.